27 More Sustainable Handbags We Know You’ll Love

Interested in ditching the dirty? O My Bag is the brand for you. The Dutch label merges style and a responsible approach, creating vintage inspired, rugged-chic handbags made from more sustainable materials, including its high quality, lower-impact leather. Although some with animal welfare front of mind may favour a vegan leather approach, O My Bag believes that lower-impact leather is the way to go.

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Kayu is an American brand that creates gorgeous, handcrafted boho more sustainable bags for the modern free spirit. Each bag is crafted by women in the Philippines, who weave and embroider the bags by hand. Most of these women are mothers, and making Kayu bags allows them to earn a living as well as look after their children. Aside from looking out for its people, Kayu is also dedicated to preserving our planet. Its bags and hats are made from natural straw that has been harvested, stripped, and dyed by hand. This kind of straw fades with time, eventually biodegrading and returning to the earth. The brand does use leather in some designs.

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Shop KAYU Pre-Owned @ Vestiaire Collective.

Handcrafted in Greece and designed in London, the Calliope is a great day to night bag, perfectly sized for your cell, wallet, and a few beauty essentials. Mashu’s environmental rating is ‘Good,’ crafting its exterior with vegan leather and recycled polyester, while its interiors feature vegan suede made from recycled polyester, ensuring you never have to sacrifice your morals for style again!

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Founded in 2018 with the sole purpose of delivering pieces that had beauty – without the beast, Sans Beast is an Australian accessories brand creating luxury vegan bags and accessories cruelty-free. The Mahogany Daytripper Tote is generously sized and super versatile, ideal as a baby bag or a powerhouse work tote. Made from recycled Eco PU, it features multiple compartments and comes with a detachable webbing strap to wear cross body.

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Designed by Angela Roi, this taupe more sustainable satchel is sure to turn heads. This 100% vegan leather alternative is designed with impeccable detail, featuring a trapezoidal shape with faux croc texture. It includes an interchangeable gold chain, vegan leather straps and a magnetic flap closure. Not your style? No worries! Amour Vert carries other beautiful staples, including everyday totes and other must-haves.

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Feeling a clutch or a shoulder bag? The Lolita Multi-Way Bag is a uniquely colourful number. Featuring an attachable strap and inner pocket, the piece is sustainably and locally handmade from 15 upcycled plastic bags. Up-Fuse is a Cairo-based social enterprise that provides jobs for female refugees in Egypt through its work.

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A pioneer of independent Australian design, Elk was founded in Melbourne in 2004. The brand creates bi-annual collections that are informed by a design ethos where simplicity and sustainability meet innovation. The ideal size for everyday use, the Orsa Bag is crafted from soft cow leather, designed to look neat and clean. All leather at Elk is sourced from LWG tanneries, which is an association that sets high industry standards and audits tanneries for environmental performance. Additionally, all products are passed by REACH standard regulations, meaning they are made with restricted levels of specific chemical substances in their goods.

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HYER GOODS is an NY-based, leather goods label that curates hand-made products including handbags, wallets, and accessories. By upcycling “trash” it eliminates the massive energy footprint needed to cultivate land, livestock, crops and fertilizers, while simultaneously reducing the amount of waste being sent to landfill. Less energy and less pollution mean fewer greenhouse gases. We love HYER GOODS’ twist on a classic 90’s baguette bag silhouette, executed in the brand’s most luxe recycled leather waste.

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A bag that saves people’s lives? You got it. Parker Clay is an American-based brand looking to create a future without exploitation by bettering lives and communities in Ethiopia. The brand has partnered with Ellilta Women at Risk program, fighting to bring women out of prostitution by providing a more stable income and safe working environment. Parker Clay also helps preserve traditional Ethiopian techniques, materials, and styles, ensuring that this fast growing country is able to remain close to its beautiful roots. Note that the brand does use leather, so is not vegan-friendly.

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Raven + Lily supports local female artisans to create handmade jewellery, bags, and homewares. This US brand's products are responsibly-made and empower communities through fair wages, healthcare, and education.

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Shop Raven + Lily.

Shop Raven + Lily @ Cerqular.

NOAH creates cruelty-free and 100% vegan shoes and accessories. This German’s brand high-quality and long-lasting shoes are hand-crafted in Italy, using a small proportion of better material. We love this small vegan shoulder bag, with simple design and pure elegance and handmade in Italy.

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Shop NOAH.

Shop NOAH @ Immaculate Vegan.

Elvis & Kresse is a British brand that is truly changing the game in lower-impact material innovation. Once used to fight fires, the more sustainable Post Bag is made from genuine decommissioned fire-hose, previously deployed in active duty, fighting fires around the UK. A great all day bag designed to be held in hand, over the shoulder, or across the body, this bag is the epitome of versatility. The innovation doesn’t stop there: the lining is made from reclaimed parachute silk… Neat!

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Mini, but mighty! If you’re looking for an edgy, timeless piece look no further. Although many luxury brands have been criticised for their wasteful and harmful practices, British designer Stella McCartney has been committed to operating a modern and responsible business for almost two decades. In line with the brand’s cruelty free ethos, the Falabella is gorgeously crafted from a non-leather alternative. 100% polyester and lined with ECONYL® recycled nylon, this more sustainable handbag is sure to dress up any look!

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Shop Stella McCartney @ LVRSustainable.

Shop Stella McCartney Pre-Owned @ Vestiaire Collective.

Shop Stella McCartney.

Indego Africa believes that women and youth around the globe have the capacity, creativity, and determination to achieve economic independence—all they need are the resources. That’s why the brand invests 100% of its profits into the education of the women it employs. Since 2007, it has provided over 1,100 artisans and 250 young people in Rwanda and Ghana with employment opportunities, entrepreneurship training, and consistent access to the global export market. In fact, this half-shell more sustainable tote was made with love by artisans in Rwanda who make handwoven baskets and bags using raffia: a straw-like fibre that can be stripped from the inside of palm tree leaves. Love!

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NAE is a Portuguese footwear, bags, and accessories brand using innovative materials to create goods with “No Animal Exploitation”. Its lower-impact materials include recycled PET from bottles, OEKO-TEX® certified microfibres, recycled car tyres, natural cork, recycled thermoplastic, and even pineapple leaf fibre.

Find most of the shoes in sizes 36-46.

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Shop NAE @ Urbankissed.

Shop NAE @ Immaculate Vegan.

BOTTLETOP is a first-class more sustainable fashion innovator! All of the brand’s bags incorporate upcycled metal ring pulls in their design, which are sourced and cleaned in Brazil. The metal rings are used to create BOTTLETOP’s signature chain mail fabric. The beautiful Bellani is the brand’s signature more sustainable handbag with its timeless shape and colour. Stylish and capacious, this classic bag has a useful large interior pocket, and its adjustable strap means you can wear it either over the shoulder or across the body. And it makes a real style statement, too! Animal lovers note that leather is used in some products, sourced from Zero Deforestation Leather.

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Infantium Victoria offers beautiful vegan luxury for all ages. This German brand scores highly across the board. Its products are certified by Global Organic Textile Standard (GOTS), and it sells previously owned products to minimise textile waste.

Find clothes for babies ages 6 months all the way to teens aged 16 years.

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Sweden’s Sandqvist makes a range of stylish, everyday more sustainable bags from backpacks to handbags. The Cecilia is a contemporary handbag from the brand’s ‘Tomorrow’ series, but FYI Vegans, the bags are crafted from full grain aniline-dyed Scandinavian leather. Sandqvist utilises leather from Scandinavian cattle, originally bred for food production; this allows full traceability, ensures good animal husbandry, and minimises environmental impact. Moreover, the brand’s tanneries are rated Gold or Silver by LWG. Aside from caring for our Earth, Sandqvist also cares for our people, securing safe and fair working conditions audited by the Fair Wear Foundation.

Damaged or done with an item? Bring your item to a Sandqvist workshop for repairs or upcycling.

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Shop Sandqvist Pre-Owned @ Vestiaire Collective.

Svala creates luxury designer vegan handbags, purses, bags, and totes. Each bag is handcrafted sustainably and ethically in LA with high-quality, premium vegan leather PU, cork, and Piñatex. The Didi Clutch is the perfect accessory for a night out with your girls or a lovely dinner date!

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Tired of your worn out tote? No problem. Deux Mains is a Haitian owned fashion company producing high quality, long-lasting products while employing and empowering marginalised Haitian communities. The brand uses high-quality, long-lasting materials including upcycled tires, and it is a leading advocate for better labour rights. Sophisticated and timeless, the City Tote is perfect for any outfit. The bottom panel, made from repurposed inner-tube, increases this tote’s durability and charm, making our inner eco-conscious hearts beat a little faster! Note that leather is used in some products.

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Mila.Vert makes chic, minimalist clothes that have a distinctly modern feel. The Slovenia-based brand produces clothes in small batches based on a pre-order system to minimise waste and help to avoid the ethical and environmental issues that the fashion industry represents.

Find the garments in sizes XS-XL.

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Shop Mila.Vert.

Shop Mila.Vert @ Immaculate Vegan.

Burberry is a British luxury fashion house known for its timeless beige trench coats. The brand has good policies to monitor suppliers, but it still uses exotic animal products. Shopping Burberry second hand allows us to add items to our wardrobe without using additional resources in the manufacturing process, to keep clothes out of landfills, and to (re)discover Burberry's unique and special pieces along the way.

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Shop Burberry @ Vestiaire Collective.

Founded in 1921, Gucci is an Italian luxury fashion house that produces menswear, womenswear, as well as shoes, bags, and other accessories. The brand has good policies to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions, but still uses exotic animal skin. The good news is that you can find many of Gucci's modern luxury pieces second hand.

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Shop Gucci Pre-Owned @ Vestiaire Collective.

Calvin Klein is an American brand which specialises in ready-to-wear underwear and accessories. The brand has made a public commitment to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, but is not taking adequate steps to reduce textile waste in its supply chain. Buying Calvin Klein second hand allows you to keep clothes out of landfills and slow down the restless fast fashion cycle.

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Shop Calvin Klein Pre-Owned @ Vestiaire Collective.

Balenciaga is a luxury fashion house founded in 1919 by Spanish designer Cristóbal Balenciaga in San Sebastián. The Kering-owned brand has been making some efforts to reduce its environmental impact, setting targets to reduce its direct and indirect emissions, and implementing initiatives to reduce water use.

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Shop Balenciaga Pre-Owned @ Vestiaire Collective.

The iconic British fashion house, owned by Kering and now run by Sarah Burton (who designed Catherine Middleton's dress for her wedding to Prince William), is characterised by theatrical and bright styling. Alexander McQueen is on the right path and stands out from the majority of luxury fashion houses.

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Shop Alexander McQueen @ Vestiaire Collective.

Yves Saint Laurent, or as it's now known, Saint Laurent, is a French luxury fashion house founded by Yves Saint Laurent and his partner, Pierre Bergé. The brand has good policies to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions.

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Shop Saint Laurent @ Vestiaire Collective.